A mother-to-be and her unborn baby who died after she had an epileptic seizure was not told the risks over her condition, an inquest has heard.
Megan Gardiner, 25, was 17 weeks pregnant when she and her unborn son were found dead in her bedroom by her mother.
An inquest heard Ms Gardiner had ‘one of the most volatile’ types of epilepsy and was not advised properly about her medication during pregnancy.
Her heartbroken mother Alison Woolcock discovered Ms Gardiner having fallen between her bed and the wall in Barry, South Wales.
Her medical cause of death was later given as Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy – known as SUDEP in June 2022.
Epilepsy specialist Kim Morley said there had been a series of failures in Ms Gardiner’s care before her death.
Ms Morley, a registered midwife, nurse prescriber and advanced clinical practitioner, said: ‘With the knowledge of her seizure description and medical history, Megan had probably one of the most volatile types of epilepsy to present in pregnancy.’
She added that Ms Gardiner’s seizures ‘had never been controlled by her epilepsy medicines’.
Megan Gardiner, 25, died after an epileptic seizure and was found by her mother after she had fallen between her bed and the wall in their family home in Barry, South Wales, in June 2022
Ms Gardiner (right) leaves behind her mother Alsion, father Robert and sister Tesni (left)
‘This scenario, for anybody, is probably the highest in terms of the risk of SUDEP,’ she said.
‘Without being informed of this risk, without the knowledge, how could you counsel somebody accurately?’
‘It is a really hard conversation, I absolutely acknowledge that, but in order that women are making an informed decision, they need to have all the potential knowledge of what that decision could do.
‘For example, if a woman were to reduce or stop their medications, or even if they’ve been encouraged to continue those medicines, if they’re not given all the information they may make a decision based on information that they’ve read online, about the potential effects of their medicines in a baby.
‘They may say to you that they’re going to continue them but they might walk out and stop them at that minute.
‘As a practitioner you have this opportunity, this window, to actually individually counsel them about their potential risk and that’s what I felt was missing in terms of Megan’s care.’
The would-be mother had been advised to decrease Zonisamide, without titrating – or swapping – in another medication, but Ms Morley said she would not have done.
She said: ‘I do not know any neurologist that would have made that decision… I’d have been terrified this woman could die.’
Ms Gardiner and her boyfriend Jowad Ahmed, the would-be father of her unborn son
It was the second loss of a child for Ms Woolcock and her partner Robert after their middle daughter Ellie died in 2001 of sudden infant death syndrome shortly before her second birthday
An inquest is investigating what advice and care Ms Gardiner was given during her pregnancy by medical professionals, and what medication she was on.
Ms Woolcock described her daughther – who suffered from epilepsy since she was 13 – as ‘beautiful’ and having a ‘wonderfully sarcastic sense of humour’.
She said: ‘Megan was ambitious. An ultimate goal was to own her own business one day doing make-up.
‘She became very skilled from watching plenty of makeup videos as well as RuPaul’s drag race.
‘She had a wonderfully sarcastic sense of humour. If she made a joke or liked a joke she would laugh about it forever. You could become the brunt of her jokes very easily.
‘She got on really well with me and we shared lots of the same interests – interests that she got me into.
‘She really supported me as well, with charity days, and would just be there whenever I needed her.’
Ms Woolcock told the hearing that the risks of SUDEP were never directly brought up to her or her daughter – and instead were discussed as a generalised risk.
Alison (pictured holding photo of Ms Gardiner) described her daughter as ‘beautiful’ and having a ‘wonderfully sarcastic sense of humour’
She said that although medics discussed terminating the pregnancy Ms Gardiner never considered it.
The Pontypridd hearing was told the would-be mother was also at risk from ‘sleep seizures’ but Ms Woolcock said the family had not been made aware of this.
She said that if they had been told her daughter was at risk from sleeping alone then Ms Woolcock would have co-slept with her.
Speaking ahead of the inquest, Ms Gardiner’s family raised concerns about her epilepsy care before and during pregnancy.
The hearing was told medics were looking at new medications for Ms Gardiner and she chose not to take sodium valproate despite doctors recommending it when other medications had not worked.
The inquest heard sodium valproate was dangerous for babies – but Ms Gardiner may not have understood it would only have been a temporary treatment to halt seizures.
It previously heard that Ms Gardiner and her unborn child were found dead by her mother after she had an epileptic fit and fell between her bed and the wall.
After her death, Ms Woolcock paid tribute to her ‘perfect’ daughter saying she was ‘devastated’ by the loss.
She described Ms Gardiner as ‘full of life’ and said she was ‘a thoughtful and caring soul’.
It was the second loss of a child for Alison and her partner Robert after their middle daughter Ellie died in 2001 of sudden infant death syndrome shortly before her second birthday.
‘We’ve already been through this once and we’re going through it again,’ said Ms Woolcock. ‘It’s just devastating.’
She added: ‘Meg really wanted to be a parent. She was happy about being pregnant.
‘Any parent told that taking something could harm their baby would listen to that advice. She wanted to do the best she could for her baby.’
The hearing, before coroner Kerrie Burge, continues.
